Services/Sermon in Wolf Lake 07.01.2017

Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are now coming to the end of Epiphany services here in Wolf Lake. And even though today is, on the church calendar, the first Sunday after Epiphany, as we heard this morning, the theme is baptismal grace, I will take a text for yesterday, which is the day of Epiphany. The text is an epistle text, the words of the Apostle Paul, written in 1 Timothy, the third chapter, verses 14 through 16. And we will pause to hear these words as follows in Jesus' name.

These things write unto you, hoping to come unto you shortly. But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, it is the pillar and ground of truth. And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. He was justified in the spirit. He was seen of angels. He was preached unto the Gentiles. He was believed on in the world. And then he was received up into glory. Amen.

The Apostle Paul is in prison. And while he was in prison, he wrote several different letters, which are recorded for us in Scripture. And they're known as the Letters of Imprisonment. And this letter he is writing to his young co-worker that came to be very close and dear to him, whose name was Timothy. In this very short portion, there is very much important material. And as we'll get to it a little bit later, the last verse, verse 16, is known as one of the creeds that are recorded in the Bible, which is a summary of the many important parts of our Christian faith and doctrine.

I think maybe verse 16 was the verse assigned for Epiphany, but I started a couple of verses earlier, and I think I'll go through them a little bit later. So, Paul is writing to Timothy these things I write unto you that I would hope to come to you shortly. I don't know if the Apostle Paul was able to ever see Timothy again, because he was in chains in prison. Even though his imprisonment was quite loose, so to say, people were able to come visit him. So people were coming and people were going. Nevertheless, he wasn't completely free, even though he probably wasn't in jail as we would know it today. But he was under some sort of guard or watched by some sort of guards.

But then he said, If I tarry long, I would want you to know how you ought to behave yourself. And then he continues, and how you ought to behave yourself in the house of God. So he is talking about the house of God, and then he uses another word, which is a synonym, and it says, this house of God is the same as or equal to the church of the living God. So he's using the picture or the illustration of a temple.

And we are able to have services this afternoon and all this weekend. And week after week, you are able to gather here in Wolf Lake Church, which is a building that was constructed back in maybe 1956, if I'm remembering my history correctly. I'm pretty close, if I'm not right on, but it was dedicated for the purpose of sanctified as a building to, as a place of worship, to praise, honor our living God.

We remember when Jesus was 12 years old, and he was brought into the temple, the physical temple there in Jerusalem by his parents. And his parents began to leave back for home, and they went a ways, and then they realized that their son was missing. They turned around to go find their son, and there he was visiting with the scribes and the elders there in the temple area. And they asked him, well, why did you stay behind? We have been looking for you. Why didn't you come with us when we left? And his response was very interesting, that I must be in my Father's house.

So again, we see the word house. When the apostles, when we read the Acts of the Apostles, began the work of God's kingdom, and they began to go around preaching the word of God, they would, of course, go into the temple while the temple was still lasting or standing before it was destroyed. But then they also went into the synagogues. But it wasn't always easy. It was times of persecution. The apostle Paul always went first to the synagogue, to the Jews, to his native countrymen. And he was often chased out of the synagogues. And then he would turn to the Gentiles.

So this began to be a turning point in the work of God's kingdom, as Jesus had prophesied, that the kingdom of God will be taken away from the Jews and it will be given to the Gentiles. One time, while the disciples were admiring the beautiful temple there in Jerusalem, standing before them on the horizon as they're approaching the city, Jesus said that, and he actually cried. He said, soon it will be that this temple will be destroyed and there will be not one stone left standing upon the other.

So that was the actual physical temple, the sanctuary, which was the pride and the joy of the Jewish people. But this is different than what Jesus or Paul is referring to when he's writing to Timothy from prison. One time Jesus was talking about his body as the temple. And he said, this temple will be hewn down. It will be destroyed, but it will be rebuilt again in three days.

The Pharisees became highly offended. They thought that he was mocking the physical temple of Jerusalem. But of course, Jesus was referring to his upcoming suffering and death on the cross, his burial, and then his resurrection again from the grave three days later.

In Finland, the Finnish believers are part of the state church. It's not officially a state church, but it's a term we use. They're part of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church. And sometimes there's been talk that now when it's becoming more and more liberal, that how long will the believers remain within that organization of the state church? Well, they are still there, and they have no plans to leave anytime soon.

So it's another use of the word church. We can see around us as we're traveling around the country and through different cities, the many beautiful church buildings. Some are very ornate and beautiful, and cathedrals that are in some of the big cities around the country and around the world. But these are not the kingdom of God. This is not the house of God. Neither is this physical building, this church in which we are gathered today, even though it's a place of worship, sanctified for the preaching of God's word.

That's not the house of God that Paul is talking about. Neither is the LLC. Neither is the SRK. These are organizations which believers, human beings, have organized in order that they could, within and under the laws of the land, be able to safely, legally do the work of God's kingdom. But the organization itself is not the kingdom of God.

Sure, it is found within and among the believers, but the borders do not go. The people who are the leaders of the organization are the ones who are the leaders of the organization. They are not the members of the LLC or the SRK. But yet, they are still members of the house, the church, of the living God, a member of God's kingdom.

So, just kind of a few viewpoints about what this word, house of God is, and how it has been used in many different contexts. So, Paul says, but if I tarry long, that you would know how you ought to behave yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, or in other words, it is the kingdom of God here upon this earth.

So Luther says, if you wish to find Christ, don't gaze up into the heavens, where he is not here, there. You won't find him there, but he is found here upon earth in the kingdom of God. And he says, the kingdom of God is not stone. It is not rock. It's not a physical building. It's not a building. But it is a group of believers, true believers in whose midst lives and dwells by and through faith in the Holy Spirit. There lives Christ Jesus.

So there, after he says that this refers to the house of God, which is the pillar, which is the church of the living God. And he says it is the pillar, and the ground of truth.

Now, the Apostle Paul, when he was writing this, as I mentioned already, when he was writing this letter to Timothy, was in Rome, imprisoned in Rome. And if you make a trip to Rome today, or those parts of the world, you can see structures and roads that were existing during the time of Paul. They're still standing. The roads are still the same. Many of the same buildings, many of the same structures, many of the same edifices.

And one common sight are many of the pillars there. Beautiful, ornate pillars. Some are taller, some are shorter. Some are bigger in width, and some are smaller in width. But the purpose of the pillar is not the pillar itself.

So the pillar, as Paul says, is the house of the living God, the church of the living God. The house of God, and the church of the living God, or the kingdom of God. So that's the pillar.

But in order for a pillar to stand erect, it needs to have a foundation. So what is the foundation of each one of those pillars that were standing? For example, if you walk down a corridor, and maybe on each side of the corridor, there'd be lined with pillars, one after another after another. And each one is standing erect because it has a foundation.

So likewise, the house of the living God, the church of the living God, which is like a pillar, as Paul here says, is standing on a foundation. And the Bible says, there is no other foundation than the foundation which has been laid, and the foundation is Christ Jesus.

Or as Paul says when writing to the Ephesians, he uses the illustration of the temple. The temple is made of living stones. Each one of us are like a living stone in the walls of this living temple, a picture of God's kingdom. But it is on a foundation. And the foundation is the foundation of the apostles, and the prophets, and every foundation has a cornerstone, and that cornerstone is Christ Jesus.

And the foundation is the foundation of the apostles, and the cornerstone is Christ Jesus.

But then if you think of those pillars, those pillars are standing for a reason. They have a purpose. They're not just standing there for nothing. But there's something which is on top of each one of these pillars. And often they are statues. They could be a statue of, or a bust of this Caesar, or that Caesar, or this king, or another king.

So the pillar is standing in order to present to the people walking by that thing which is of importance, which is on top of the pillar, and that's the bust of some very important character.

So this is the picture that the apostle Paul is now using about the house of Jesus. The house of God, the church of the living God. And what does he say? The house of God, the church of the living God, it is the pillar, and it is the ground, or the foundation. And what does it present? What is the bust? What is the statue on top? It's not some Caesar's head. It's not some king's head. But the pillar is presenting and trying to show that very important thing.

So what is on the top of this pillar, in this case, that Paul is trying to illustrate? It is the pillar and the ground of truth.

Well, what is this truth? Jesus said, I am the truth. So that is the bust. That is the statue that is being held, carried, and displayed on the top of this pillar.

So Jesus is the Lord and the King of his kingdom. So the purpose of the kingdom of God is to display, to speak about, to proclaim the message about the King at the top of this pillar, who is the truth. It is Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior.

So, but they go together. You need to have the pillar, which is standing on a foundation, and the pillar, which is carrying the truth. So they come as one complete unit.

As we read that one Luther quote last night in the presentation that, as Luther says, outside of the kingdom of God, there is no salvation, there is no Christ. But there where Christ is, where is he? He says, if you wish to find Christ, you need to find the true believers. For I am with you until the end of the world, says Jesus. Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in your midst.

So Christ is not and cannot be separated from his kingdom. But yet, what is the highest point on the pillar? What has the highest authority? It is Christ Jesus himself.

And another thing is, the word, the living word, this Bible, is Christ. He is the main message in the Holy Scriptures. Jesus says, if you wish to read the Scriptures, he says, for the Scriptures testify about me. That is the main message in the Holy Scriptures.

And so, in the confessional writings, the Luther confessional writings, and it's also in your bylaws, I'm sure in Wolf Lake bylaws, if you look it up, there's quoted from the Luther confessional writings, which says, that the word of God is the highest authority. It is the guide, it is the judge, by which every teacher, preacher, and everything that they teach, shall be, and needs to be, evaluated, and judged.

So every teacher, preacher, every teaching that they teach, needs to be evaluated and judged in the light, and through the light, of the Holy Scriptures. And if it's not according to the Holy Scriptures, we can say, that it's not the true, living word, of God.

So nothing can come to the level of the word of God. Nothing.

I'll read one quote, which is written by a person whose name is Kula Ravahurko. I don't know if very many people know that name, I know Esa Vilkema knows the name, and maybe a couple of the Alayukin boys would recognize the name, Kula Ravahurko.

But actually, was there anyone who was old enough, or living and old enough, at that time, to remember when he came to this country? He came here in 1947. I know some were living in 1947, but do they remember his actual visit? I think he came with Augusti Durela. Augusti Durela came again in 1965, but his first trip was in 1947. And he visited Wolf Lake, because he wrote about it in the newspapers once he returned home, because he kept a diary, and published that diary.

But anyways, he wrote two books about the history of Christianity. One back in the 1940s or 50s, then the second one he wrote in the early 1960s.

But, I'm going to read one quote, which is from a book in Finnish called Kukistumetoon, Valta Gunta, which means the unshakable kingdom. And here it says, and even further, we believe and we teach, that the world is a place of peace and peace of mind.

And we teach that the Bible is the only guide. So, quote him from the confessional writings, which I just stated, but again, he's repeating. The Bible, the physical Bible, not the oral word that we preach from the pulpit, but the Old Testament and the New Testament, which is printed on paper, with pen or with ink. That Bible is the only guide, according to which every instruction is exactly a guide. He says, is to be examined and to be judged.

But then he says, and this is the point I'm trying to say, and now remember that illustration that Paul is using when writing to Timothy of the pillar, which is the kingdom of God, and that pillar of God is holding something of high importance, which is the bust of that figure. In this case, it's truth, which is Christ Jesus, which is the cap or at the top of the pillar.

And this is what he says. That up to the level of the Bible, nothing can rise. Nothing can rise to the level of the Bible. Nothing. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Nothing. Nothing can rise to the level of the Bible. And no other authority can rise to the level of the Bible. Not even to the level of the Bible, less to speak, above the level of the Bible. That is the final authority.

So the Bible is even above the kingdom of God. The truth is standing on top of the pillar, which is the kingdom of God. Very interesting. Very important.

And there's an SRK yearbook that just came out, hot off the press. And there's one writing which actually quotes this quote that I just read in that article written by a friend of mine whose name is Erkibidi. He told me about the article that's come in months and months ago, but now it's published in writing for all to read.

So anyways, that's introductory to this text that we're reading for examination this afternoon.

So then we go into the actual Epiphany text that was chosen for yesterday, and I'm reading today, a day after Epiphany.

And then he goes on to say, and this is actually one of the creeds in the Bible. And there's many types of creeds in the Bible. And what is a creed? A creed is our confession of faith.

And the most common creed that we know of is the Apostles' Creed. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of Heaven and Earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, and so on and so forth. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and a life everlasting. This is most certainly true.

So this is our most familiar creed that comes to mind when we hear spoken about creeds. But there's many other creeds which are confessions of faith.

Brett had the text this morning about Philip coming to visit with the Eunuch of Ethiopia. He joined the Eunuch there in the chariot and they began to look at and examine the portion from Isaiah, Isaiah, was it chapter 53? And the Eunuch says that he doesn't understand what he's reading at all. Of course, he didn't when it wasn't enlightened by the Holy Spirit.

Enlightened by the Holy Spirit. And then Philip began to explain it to him. And then he wanted to be baptized. But Philip says, do you believe what I've been preaching? And then came the confession of faith, a creed, we could say. He says, yes, I do believe.

And what are the exact words? We heard them this morning in the sermon that I brought. And then he said, I believe. And then he said, I believe. And then he said, I believe. So that was a creed, a confession of faith.

In the Old Testament in Deuteronomy, it says, hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. So that's a certain type of creed or confession.

When Jesus was visiting with Peter and there were many people who were offended and didn't stay in the company of Jesus but departed, and Jesus asked that people are thinking that I'm John the Baptist or Prophet Elijah or Prophet Jeremiah or some other prophet. He says, who do you think I am? And then came the confession or the creed of Peter. And he said, you are Christ, the Son of the living God. So that was his confession of faith. And we could say, that's also another type of a creed.

And I got a little mixed up. Another time, Jesus was talking about eating his body and drinking his blood. And that's when the people got offended and departed. And Peter then responded on behalf of the disciples when they said that, aren't you also going to leave? And Peter said, on his behalf and on behalf of the others, where would we go? For you have the words of eternal life.

So that was a confession of faith. Again, another type of creed.

Oh, there's probably 20 of them. I can't go all through all 20 of them, but just one more and then we will move on into our text.

On Easter Sunday, Jesus appeared behind locked doors and showed his wounds. And the disciples were encouraged and applauded. And they were very happy. They were uplifted.

But there was one person of the company of Jesus who didn't happen to be there whose name was Thomas. We call him Doubting Thomas. And when he heard news of what had happened behind locked doors, he said, I don't believe it. It can't happen. Totally impossible that a person would rise from the dead.

Well, they gathered behind the same locked doors another time a few days later and again, Jesus appeared. The doors were locked. The windows were shuttered. And suddenly, Jesus appeared. The doors weren't unlocked to let him in. The windows weren't unshuttered to let him through the window. He just zippo. There he was in their midst.

And then he wanted to speak with Thomas. He said, Thomas, I want to have a little visit with you. It wasn't harsh. It wasn't mean, but it was very encouraging and uplifting and soft. And he said, Thomas, he said, basically, that I heard that you didn't believe that I had risen from the dead.

Thomas, you had said that unless I can take my fingers and put them right into the wounds that were made by the nails in his hands and the wounds of the nails made in his feet and take my fist and actually thrust it into the wound that was made by the spear in his side. He said, Thomas, Thomas had said, I won't believe it. Impossible.

Jesus said, Thomas, come here. Come here. Take your fingers. Put them right here in those wounds that are still in my hands. Put them right there in the wounds that are still in my feet. And take your fist. You can thrust it right into that wound that is in my side that was made by the spear. And don't be doubting, but believe.

Then Thomas said, My Lord, and my God. That was his confession of faith. That was a creed, we could say, of Thomas.

So now we'll briefly go through this last verse of our text. And this is another creed which is recorded for us in Scriptures. And it summarizes many, many main points. And we'll have to go through them very quickly and shortly because time is already far spent.

Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.

So we talk about the mystery of faith. And it's something that is not opposite to reason, as I think about it. As I think I referred to Friday night. But it's something that goes above and beyond human reason and understanding.

Think, for example, that Jesus was God, and he was human at the same time. With our human mind, how in the world is this possible? In fact, this was such a stumbling block to people during the time of the early church that a heresy, and many heresies broke away as a result of this. They couldn't comprehend it.

The letters of John, for example, are basically touching on this point, the central point of that heresy known as Gnosticism. And John basically says, if one does not believe that Christ didn't come into the flesh, that's the spirit of anti-Christ.

So Jesus is simultaneously God, and simultaneously a human being at the same time. God and man at the same time. How is it possible? We don't know. We can't fathom it. We can't explain it away with any scientific theory. We just say that that's what the Bible says. It's a matter of faith. We accept it and we believe. It's one of the mysteries of faith.

So Jesus once said to his disciples, and they were asking that, why do you always speak in parables? And Jesus replied in this way to you, it has been given to know and understand the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. But to those who are on the outside in unbelief, I will attempt to speak to them in parables.

So on to you, my followers, my believers has been given by and through the enlightenment of the Holy Ghost, the ability to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

So I'll move on to the next point.

And so what is one of these mysteries? And without contradiction, without controversy, great is the mystery of God, godliness.

And this, the first point, God was manifest in the flesh. He was born on the first Christmas day, wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a main manger. He was a human being. God now is a human being. He rose up. He was tempted and tried just like you and I, he experienced hunger. He experienced thirst. He experienced human emotions. At times he was happy.

I praise God of heaven and earth that you have hidden this matter of the mystery of faith from the wise and the prudent. But you have revealed it unto babes and those of childlike faith.

Other times he cried twice. The Bible says, and Jesus wept once when he was at the funeral of Lazarus. Mary and Martha, the brothers of Lazarus, were crying. They had lost their brother. Jesus broke down and cried as well.

At times, Jesus needed to be comforted. We'll be talking about angels here shortly. Angels even came to comfort the Lord Jesus.

So God is a spirit. God is a hidden God. But God allowed his son, Christ Jesus, to be incarnated, to become as a human being, which he was for 30 some years.

And then Jesus one time said, if when you see me, you see God. We can't see God, but he's telling his disciples, now, when you see me, simultaneously, when you're seeing me, you're seeing God.

Well, how about us today? Well, the face of Jesus shines upon us through the gospel message in our hearts. When we hear son and daughter, be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven. And we can, when we can hear that gospel preached from the face of Christ in heaven, he is shining into our hearts. We are seeing Christ face to face through faith. And when we see Christ in the gospel, simultaneously, we are seeing God in heaven through eyes of faith.

So God was manifest in the flesh, and then he was justified in the spirit. Justified means to vindicate or to prove or to testify. There would be many scripture portions about this idea or this topic, but shortly today is about the baptismal grace of God.

And one of the gospel texts for today, maybe it's the actual one for today. It tells when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. And when John the Baptist had performed that baptism, suddenly the heavens opened, and those who were there present were able to hear with their own ears in their own native language, the Aramaic language, which was then recorded in scriptures. You are my beloved son and hear him. You are my beloved son and woman. Well, please hear him.

So this was the testimony of God himself vindicating, testifying that he is my son. This happened again on the Mount of Transfiguration. When they were there on that mountain, Peter, James and John with Jesus, and then appeared two Old Testament saints, Moses and Prophet Elijah, one on one side, one on the other.

And again, the heavens opened. The disciples were there present, were able to hear with their own ears. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear him. Listen to what he has to say. And we can hear him by and through his holy word.

So then justified in the spirit and then seen of angels. There's many, many places in the scriptures during the life of Jesus when angels appeared. Didn't they appear on the night of the birth of Jesus? To the shepherds tending their sheep out in the fields. Appeared an innumerable number of angels.

Then one of the angels stepped forward and said, On to you this day is born in the city of David, Christ the Lord.

And when Jesus had been fasting in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, after the 40 days were up, an angel came. He stood beside Jesus and comforted him.

On the last day of Jesus' life, he was out in the garden to get his money. He was experiencing such agony, carrying the weight of the sins of all the people of the world that were on his shoulders. He slumped to the ground. Because of the pressure and weight, he began to actually sweat blood drops, which dripped to the ground.

He had prayed to God three times, and it seemed like God had deaf ears. Heavens were shut after the third time. When he had slumped to the ground, the heavens opened, and an angel came down from heaven, stood beside Jesus, and comforted Jesus.

How about on the morning of resurrection? When the two Marys came to that grave, and they wanted to anoint the body of Jesus, and they saw the grave was open. The grave was empty. The only thing that was remaining were the linens in which his body had been wrapped.

The two Marys were bewildered, befuddled. An angel appeared and spoke to the two Marys. The one who you are looking for is not here. He has risen. Go to Galilee. There you will find him, there among his own.

And on the day of resurrection, the angel said, when he ascended into the glory of heaven, the disciples were feeling so downcast and dismayed. And the angel said, fear not, for the one who you saw rise into heaven, he will come back again and will return.

And this time when he returns, he will come with all of his angels. The heavens will empty itself of angels, and they will come to carry your soul, my soul, and the souls of all of the believers into the glory of heaven.

So, he was seen of angels, and then he was preached unto the Gentiles. In another translation, he was preached about in the world.

Jesus said, go ye into all of the world and preach the gospel. Preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins. And the world will not end, says Jesus in one place, until the gospel has gone to every corner of the world, to every nation and every tongue. And then the end will come.

But here it says, he was preached about to the Gentiles. This was a stumbling block for the Jewish people. For they thought the matter of salvation only belongs to the Jews, the Jews, God's chosen nation. They considered Gentiles dogs, unworthy of this treasure, of this gospel, the message of salvation.

In fact, Peter, when he was told to go into the house of Cornelius, I'm sure he wouldn't have gone. Hadn't he saw that vision, that linen that came down from heaven three times when he was taking a nap.

And in that nap, in that dream, he saw the linen come down, which was carrying all kinds of animals, which the Jews considered defiled animals. And the voice from heaven of God said, Peter, rise, slay these animals and eat them.

And Peter said, out loud, I'm sure, how could I do such a matter of abomination? A Jew eating defiled animals.

This happened three times. Finally, the voice of God from heaven said, Peter, what I call clean, don't you try to call them defiled.

And right after he saw that vision, he woke up and someone was knocking on his door and telling Peter, Peter, come to the house of Cornelius.

Cornelius was a Roman general. He was a Gentile, a non-Jew. And Jews did not enter into the house of a Gentile. It was prohibited.

But Peter, I just saw this dream. Oh, I can go into the house of the Gentiles because God just told me in the dream, what I call clean, don't you try to call defiled.

So he went into the house of Cornelius, a Gentile house, which was filled with Gentile guests. Peter preached the gospel to that group in that house. And as a result of that sermon, the Holy Ghost fell upon all of those in that house that believed the gospel.

Now the gospel was moving out into the Gentile world. And we, all of us today are Gentiles, non-Jews, and grace and the matter of salvation belongs to us as well by and through faith.

So he has preached unto the Gentiles. He was believed on in the world. Some believed, some didn't.

John the Apostle wrote in his gospel in this way that often it happened in this way. Jesus came unto his own fellow countrymen, but his own received him not.

And that's why Paul trying to go into the synagogues, but was chased out of the synagogues, and they were even trying to stone him to death. He turned away from the Jews and went to the Gentiles and often found receptive soil. And many were those who then did accept and believe that gospel.

But then he was received up into glory. On Ascension Day, 40 days after Easter, they went to the top of Mount Olives. And Jesus gave his final farewell service to those who were gathered. I'm sure it was an emotional moment. There was weeping and crying and saying farewell to their Lord and Master.

And then he was taken up in a cloud and disappeared into the heavens. As I mentioned already, an angel then came and comforted them. That the one that you saw rising into heaven and disappear from your sight will return once again to judge the living and the dead.

In the Bible and also in one of our songs it says, one day there will be the final farewell services on the Mount of Olives at the end of the world. So we are waiting for those final services when our Lord comes a second time. And he'll say, Come, ye blessed of my Father, and inherit that kingdom which has been prepared for you and for many from the beginning of the foundation, the beginning of the world.

Go into the rest of my Lord.

This was the confession of faith, the creed summarized by Paul during the last days of his life to his fellow co-worker Timothy. And doesn't it contain, we could say, most of the central points of faith and Christian doctrine in this one small verse.

But it's comforting that, and it's this, that keep what we have. Seem how it may seem, feel how it may feel. With the hand of faith we want to cling to the grace promises of God because great is that reward which waits for us there in heaven.

By the power of the gospel we will be sustained on the journey. It will lift us. It will carry us. And it will one day bring us to our eternal home in heaven.

So as ministers often say, have a fortunate journey all the way to heaven's home.

As I mentioned Friday evening 22 years ago I was here last time at Epiphany Services in Wolf Lake and now again today, this weekend. Together with my wife and youngest child, my boy.

It has been a joy to be in your midst. I have appreciated the love and warm hospitality that all have shown to us and have enjoyed immensely this weekend. And we wish to thank you for that service of love.

But when departing, I also wish to ask that can you also forgive me for my many sins and faults? I wish to believe together with you.

In Jesus' name, amen.

The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, amen.